The idea for this article came from e-mails I have received, plus my own ideas, about things that the major American gun and ammunition manufacturers should do to improve their product lines. Listen up Browning, Federal, Henry, Hornady, Marlin, Remington, Ruger, Savage, Weatherby, and Winchester!

Hunting Rifle Calibers

One of my personal pet peeves is the seemingly random selection of calibers in various models of rifles. Has it ever happened to you that the particular caliber you want is available from the manufacturer in whose rifle you are interested, but not in the configuration you want?

Let's say, for example, that you want a certain model of bolt action rifle in .260 Remington caliber and you insist on a stock made of real walnut. But, while that manufacturer offers their short action rifle with a walnut stock in other calibers based on the .308 case, the .260 is only offered in a rifle with a synthetic stock. This kind of thing has happened to me more than once.

So, to rectify that situation, I suggest that the major manufacturers standardize their hunting rifle/caliber lines as follows. These are not the only calibers that should be offered in each type of rifle, but the calibers that should always be offered.

A subject that gets its fair share of e-mail is the odd barrel lengths the manufacturers sometimes choose for their rifles, particularly their bolt action, big game rifles. Often the barrel lengths seem to have been chosen without regard for the ballistic requirements of the cartridges for which the rifles are chambered.

Basically, the higher the velocity of the cartridge and/or the more powder burned in a cartridge, the longer the barrel should be. If it is deemed necessary to reduce barrel weight, this should be done by altering the contour of the barrel, not its length. The major manufacturers should adhere to the following sensible standards for the barrel length of big game hunting rifles.

Rifles for very high velocity (over approximately 3300 fps) or very large capacity cartridges such as the 7mm STW, Weatherby Magnum calibers, H&H Magnum calibers, 8mm and .416 Remington Magnums, and such outsized cases as the .416 Rigby and the Remington Ultra Magnum calibers should have 26 inch barrels.

Rifle Weight according to recoil

Another area where the major manufacturers often seem to go astray is rifle weight. Basically, the harder a cartridge kicks the heavier the rifle to shoot it should be. To the basic unloaded weight of a rifle should be added the anticipated weight of a telescopic sight, mount, and rings since almost all hunting rifles will presumably be equipped with optical sights. It is commonly estimated that this will add about one pound to the total weight of the rifle. Some reasonable guidelines for minimum rifle weight would be as follows.

For medium velocity cartridges like the 7-30 Waters, .30-30 Winchester, .32 Winchester Special and .35 Remington, or small caliber high intensity cartridges like the .243 Winchester, 6mm Remington and .257 Roberts the bare rifle should weigh no less than 6 pounds, for a total scoped weight of about 7 pounds.

For .25-.28 caliber high intensity cartridges on the order of the .25-06, .260 Remington, 6.5x55 SE, 7mm-08 Remington and 7x57 the bare hunting rifle should weigh no less than 6.5 pounds, for a total scoped weight of about 7.5 pounds.

For powerful cartridges like the .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, 8x57 and .45-70 (with standard loads) the bare hunting rifle should weigh no less than 7 pounds, for a total scoped weight of about 8 pounds.

For hard kicking cartridges such as the .300 WSM/SAUM, .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 H&H Magnum, .325 WSM, .338 Winchester Magnum, 9.3x74R and .450 Marlin (or .45-70 with equivalent loads) the bare hunting rifle should weigh no less than 8 pounds, for a total scoped weight of about 9 pounds.

For large capacity magnum cartridges like the 7mm Remington Ultra Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .300 Remington Ultra Magnum and 8mm Remington Magnum the bare hunting rifle should weigh no less than 9 pounds, for a total scoped weight of about 10 pounds.

For cartridges designed for hunting thick-skinned dangerous game like the .375 Ruger, .375 H&H Magnum, .375 Weatherby Magnum, .375 Remington Ultra Magnum, .416 Rigby, .416 Remington Magnum and .458 Winchester Magnum the total weight of the rifle should be at least 11 pounds.

To Marlin for the XLR series rifles with their 24" barrels, stainless steel actions and other improvements.

To Remington for reintroducing the 6.5mm Rem. Mag. and .350 Rem. Mag. cartridges and Managed Recoil ammunition. Also for importing the excellent Mauser 98 based Model 798 centerfire rifle.

To Ruger for the No. 1-S in 9.3x74R caliber. What a sweetheart!

To Savage for the wonderful AccuTrigger and introducing (and upgrading) the Classic series of centerfire and rimfire rifles.

It is sooo nice when manufacturers listen!

Conclusion

This article will periodically be updated as other good suggestions for the major gun and ammunition manufacturers arrive by e-mail. If you have a pet peeve and a suggestion to rectify it, e-mail me by clicking on my name (above). If a sufficient number of other people share your opinion I will add it to this article.